


Dinner at Home

by tortiecat (orphan_account)



Series: Old Friends, New Friends [3]
Category: due South
Genre: Friendship, Gen, New Friends, Old Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 09:18:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/tortiecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to "Lemonade." Ray Kowalski stays for dinner at the Vecchios', and the Rays reach an understanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner at Home

**Author's Note:**

> I must credit Laurie Redwood's wonderful story, "Wounds," for the idea about the Vecchios' downstairs bedroom. I wish she had written more than just one dS story. 
> 
> Thank you to my friends on William and Elyse's forum for the encouragement, and to ButterflyGhost for being my beta, especially when I was nervous about writing RayK's voice for the first time.

Ray heard a mockingbird chirping loudly outside the window. Without lifting his head from the pillow, he turned toward the noise and stared in confusion for a minute at the blue gingham curtains. Bright sunlight peeked beneath them. Ray blinked and became more awake, and remembered that he was safely at home, in the downstairs guest bedroom.

Ray had wanted to stay in his own room and sleep in his own bed again. But Ma and Benny insisted that he not climb the stairs. Benny tried to make it positive. “Dr. Patel would have sent you to a rehabilitation center for therapy if there was no place for you to sleep on the first floor, Ray. This way, you can be home with us, and go to therapy as an outpatient,” he’d said.

After that first night at home, Ray was glad for the comfortable first-floor bedroom, which was so much nicer than the dark den with the ratty Lazy Boy and bean bag chairs. They had been the only furniture in the den because Pop had intended to put the pool table there – the one that had ended up in the basement for 15 years. Pop had lashed out at Ma suggesting that they fix up the room and make it a pleasant place for guests — it was his room, Pop had said.

Well, the house had long been Ray’s, and he was free to do whatever he wanted with the den. Ray, Tony and two of the cousins had even expanded the room’s tiny bathroom, which had only a toilet and sink, by knocking down a wall between it and a little-used utility room. Now the guest bedroom had a large bathroom with a walk-in shower.

Benny had stayed here while he was recovering from the bullet that Ray meant for Victoria. But now Benny was staying upstairs in Ray’s bedroom, and “Benny’s room” was “Ray’s room” for a while. Ray was glad he’d talked Benny out of staying downstairs with him at night. His friend worried far too much. “Ray, what if you need help during the night? I could sleep on the floor beside your bed, or maybe in the living room. It’s close enough to your room that I could hear you if you call,” Benny had said.

Maria had solved the problem after she’d heard he and Benny arguing during Ray’s first afternoon home. She’d found her old baby monitors and told Ray to put the speaker in his room, while Benny had the receiver in his. Ma had another receiver in her room. They’d both be sure to hear Ray if he called for help.

A woof interrupted Ray’s thoughts. He rolled to his other side, grimacing against the stiffness, and saw Dief looking intently up at him from the floor, his tail swishing back and forth.

“Hey, Furface, what are you doing here?”

Dief answered with a soft whine, and stood on his hind legs to put his paws and nose on the comforter.

Ray sighed and glanced over at the clock radio. Almost 6 p.m. “Why don’t you ask Fraser or Mikey to feed you, if you’re hungry?”

Dief woofed again and kept eying him. Ray sighed.

“Okay, I’ll get up. I’m too stiff anyway.”

Physical therapy wasn’t getting easier after more than a week. When he left today, he was aching all over and damp with sweat. At least a cool spring breeze was blowing, so Ray didn’t think he would melt when he and Benny started walking to the car. When they got home, he swallowed some pain reliever – he was taking the prescription stuff only three times a day now – and turned on the water in the shower as warm as he could stand it. He’d balked at the shower seat that Ma had bought, not wanting to feel like an old man. But today he’d been glad that he didn’t have to stand and be careful about not slipping. He could just sit and let the water wash over his battered body. He was also glad both Ma and Benny were now leaving him alone sometimes. Neither one of them had sat in his bedroom while he was in the bathroom, waiting for him to finish.

After showering, Ray’d laid on the bed, intending to rest only a few minutes. Instead, he’d slept for more than two hours.

The hallway was strangely quiet, with no children running in and out the back door and squealing happily, no Tony or Maria yelling at them to not stomp on Ma’s polished floors, and no Frannie talking excitedly about where she and Ren would be looking for caterers. Ray only heard water running in the kitchen, and smelled marinara. Across the hall in the living room, he heard Benny’s patient voice, and another voice answering.

Kowalski was lounging on the couch, one leg crossed over the other. Benny sat in the wing chair, listening intently.

“Fraser, you got to help me out! He’s driving me nuts! I don’t want to be alone with him and put up with his corny jokes for hours. I can’t believe Huey agreed to open a comedy club with him. What is he thinking?!”

“He believes that he and Dewey have the skill as a comedic duo to make their hobby a career. But you did say they want to do stand-up comedy part time initially.”

“Yeah – Huey said they’ll stay on the force and just open on weekends to start. I’m stuck with Dewey this week because Huey’s at a family reunion, hoping to line up investors. He asked me, but I don’t have that kind of money, and I wouldn’t want to spend it on a crappy comedy club if I did.”

“Language, Ray.”

“Hey, the kids aren’t around, Frase! I can swear if I wanna. And having to go on stakeout with just Dewey makes me want to.” He paused, and Ray, standing silently in the doorway, watched him lean intently toward Fraser. “Frase, I’m begging ya. Come tonight. Welsh won’t mind. He said the other day he misses you always figuring everything out when the rest of us can’t.”

“I’m officially on leave for another month, Ray. I can’t act as a liaison.”

“Who said anything about that? It’ll be unofficial. You’re helping out a friend. That’s how you worked with Vecchio, right? You weren’t leesing until we met.”

“Li-a-sing, Ray, and you’re right. I became the official liaison between the Consulate and the 27th precinct because I needed to be seen at the station and working with you, since you were supposed to be Ray Vecchio. And, yes – most of the cases I worked on with me started out with me helping him with a case in an unofficial capacity. There were also crimes we discovered when we were both off duty…”

 _Yeah, Benny, and you always dragged me into dumpsters and over fences_ , Ray thought, but he smiled as he remembered. Dief interrupted his thoughts by barking, and Fraser and Kowalski both turned.

“Ray.”

“Hey, Vecchio.”

Ray felt a stab of guilt for eavesdropping, and his face grow hot as his best friend and his replacement eyed him with curiosity. He started to leave, murmuring an apology, but Fraser quickly rose to stand by him. He placed a gentle hand on Ray’s shoulder.

“No, Ray. We were just talking. Please, come join us.”

Ray looked over Fraser’s shoulder at Kowalski, who was eying him with mostly curiosity, but a little insecurity. _At least he’s not scowling at me_ , Ray thought. He let Fraser lead him to the wing chair and sat.

Kowalski was still watching him. _What’s he doing here now? He’s always at my house!_ Ray thought. Then guilt kicked in again. _He’s Benny’s friend too_.

“Ray just came by after work to ask me about a case, and Ma invited him to stay for dinner,” Fraser explained. “It will be just the four of us. Maria and Tony took all of the children to Michael’s baseball practice and then out to dinner. You were sleeping, and I think Maria didn’t want the children to disturb you. And Francesca is on a date with Renfield.”

Dief placed his front paws on the couch beside Fraser and whimpered. Fraser frowned at him.

“You will wait and have your dinner with the rest of us.”

Dief barked and whimpered again, and Fraser sighed.

“All right – you may have some kibble now. But no eating leftovers from the table. Excuse me, Ray, Ray.”

Fraser left, Dief trotting beside him, and Ray was alone with Kowalski, who looked him up and down before his mouth twitched into an amused smile.

“Hey. You’re buttoned wrong,” he said.

Ray looked down at his shirt and saw that he’d mismatched some of the buttons and holes when he dressed himself after his shower. His face grew hot again, and he turned away from Kowalski and started to rise.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything – you don’t have to leave!” Kowalski sounded frantic. “It’s no big deal, Vecchio. You know how often I’ve done that? Plenty of times.”

 _But I’m supposed to be the slick dresser_ , Ray thought as he sat down and fumbled to rebutton his shirt, carefully keeping his back to Kowalski. It was still too painful and hard for him to pull a shirt over his head, so he didn’t have an undershirt under the light, summer button-down that he wore, and he didn’t want anyone to see the scars on his chest. The scars were hideous. Only Ma and Benny had seen them, in the hospital and again after he came home. He needed help the first few days to change his bandages, shower and get dressed.

Kowalski’s tone softened. “I just thought you’d want to get it straight before your Ma sees you. If she’s like my mom, she’ll try to rebutton you herself, and that’s embarrassing.”

 _Yes, Ma would_ , Ray thought as he responded by nodding. Rebuttoned, he turned back to Kowalski, who wasn't smirking.

“Good. You look more like you now. A lot better than you did in the hospital.”

Ray fought the urge to get defensive. _Benny wants us to be friends, and he’s trying. I should try, too_ , he thought. “Yeah?” he answered.

“Yeah. When we first got back from Canada and saw you, you really looked like shit. You’re Italian, so you shouldn’t be as pale and skinny as me, but you were.”

Ray remembered lying in the hospital bed and seeing Benny again through the haze of medication. Benny looked worn out, but he put on a brave face, as always. His voice trembled just a little as he took Ray’s hand and told him he’d been in the ICU for days, after emergency surgery for bleeding and infection in his lung, but he was out of danger now – and that Benny would be staying with him when he went home. “We almost lost you again, Ray. I’m so glad you’re back.” Benny had said.

Kowalski had hovered at the foot of the bed, looking uncomfortable even though Ma and Frannie had both hugged him when he came in and thanked him so much for being there. He didn’t say anything to Ray except, “Hey, Vecchio.” He also didn’t visit much after that. When he did, he stayed just long enough to say hello to him and Fraser. But Fraser, like his ma and sisters, came every day, and stayed for hours. He was sometimes still there when Ray fell asleep late at night.

“Yeah, you were so pale that if you’d been the one undercover as me, no one would caught on that you weren’t me,” Kowalski was saying. “You just needed some decent hair and some cool clothes.”

Ray scowled. “What that’s supposed to mean?”

Kowalski laughed. “I’m just teasing you, Vecchio! Seriously now, I’m glad you look like you again. Fraser is, too.”

A minute later, he ducked his head and ran his hand over his face, solemnly remembering something. Ray waited quietly.

“You know he worried so much about you, right?” Kowalski finally said. “Not just when you were undercover. I think he always thought you’d return safe. But the way he looked after Muldoon shot you, and then after Frannie called us and said you were back in the hospital…I never want to see Frase that sad again. We were in the hotel in Ottawa when Frannie called, and Frase later went to shower. I had to get something from the bathroom while he was in the shower, and I saw he was leaning against one wall and crying. He didn’t want to cry in front of me.”

Ray found his voice. “Yeah, that’s Benny. I once said he wasn’t human ‘cause he never cried.”

“You’re wrong.” Kowalski sounded serious. “He’s very much human.”

Ray sighed and tried again to not be defensive. _He’s just looking out for Fraser, like I do_. “I know that! I learned that a long time ago.”

Kowalski’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Yeah, I knew you’d treated him as someone with feelings, and not as the super hero everyone else does. I mean, you brought him here.” He waved his hand around the room. “Into your family. You did that ‘cause you care about him.”

Ray’s eyes suddenly misted over. _He understands Benny and me_. “I..I never did thank you, for looking after Benny. And my family.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked at Kowalski, who was watching him with concern. “Thank you,” Ray said quietly.

Kowalski reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Hey – it was a great undercover job. Best one I’ve had! I should be thanking you because if you hadn’t gone away, I wouldn’t have met Frase, and then I wouldn’t have met Mags.” He paused. “That’s why I hope you can help me out with a couple of things.”

 _How I can help anyone right now?_ Ray thought. But he still asked, “With what?”

“Lemme borrow Frase tonight for a stakeout. If he’s not there, it’ll just be me and Dewey, and you know how he is with the jokes…oh, wait, maybe you don’t know. Did you meet Dewey before you left?”

“No. Welsh told me he’d be hiring another detective to be Huey’s partner, and he wouldn’t be the same guy who’d be filling in for me and acting as me. Dewey started after I left. I only met him once, while you and Benny were in Canada.”

“Okay – well, Dewey tells all these corny jokes, and I can’t stand it! I need Frase to talk to. He said he can’t come. But if you said he should go, he’d listen to you.”

Ray turned away and looked to the sunlight streaming through the window. “Why?” he asked.

Kowalski sighed, and Ray could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “Because he’s staying here for you, Vecchio! He’s still kinda worried about you. You tell him you’ll be fine tonight, and maybe he’ll go.”

“Maybe,” Ray agreed. “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

Kowalski’s grin lit up his face. “Great! Thanks.” He turned his head toward the hallway. Ray could faintly hear clanking of plates in the dining room as someone set the table – probably Benny.

Kowalski seemed to realize that, too. “I think Frase has left us alone for a reason,”

“He wants us to get along,” Ray answered.

“I don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

 _He hasn’t replaced me_ , Ray reminded himself, before he said, “Not really.”

“Well…good.” Kowalski ran a hand through his hair and lounged back against the couch pillows. Ray listened to the ticking on the mantle clock and the birds chirping in the backyard. Somehow, the silence with Kowalski was less awkward. _He understands Benny and me_ , he thought again, then found something to say.

“What’s the second thing you want from me?”

Kowalski opened his eyes. “Oh! Right – well, Maggie’s probably coming to Chicago next month. Did Frase tell you that?”

“Yeah,” Ray sighed, thinking about how his recent hospital stay cut short Kowalski’s and Fraser’s trip across Canada, which would have included visiting Fraser’s sister. Ray thought Kowalski would be angry at him for keeping him away from his would-be girlfriend, but Kowalski didn’t seem mad at all.

“I really want to take Mags out someplace special. I want us to be dressed up and eat by candlelight and go dancing. You know, be really romantic for one night. From what Frase has said, you’re better at that than me, so I thought you’d have some recs on where to go.”

 _Why do you need to ask? Didn’t you go somewhere romantic with Stella_? Ray thought. He’d only seen Stella a few times and had coffee with her – being in the hospital prevented anything else – but he already knew that Stella liked romance.

But looking at Kowalski, who had the same pleading, big-eyed Mountie look that Benny often wore, Ray decided to bite his tongue. _Maybe he doesn’t want to take a new girlfriend to where he went with an ex. I wouldn’t_.

“I’ll think about it,” he heard himself saying.

Kowalski looked relieved. “Great! I really have no clue. The fanciest place I’ve been to for months is D’Angelo’s.”

“Benny took me there the other day.”

“Yeah? He said he probably would. What’d you think? You get the meatball sub?”

“No, just the lemonade.”

“Oh, you gotta try the sub! Maybe the sauce isn’t as great as your ma makes, but it’s pretty good. I like the Italian beef too.” He paused, and Ray watched him thinking of something.

“Tell you what, Vec- Ray. I know you’re glad to be home and all, but you must be tired of the same walls.” He waved his hands at the room. “Next weekend, you and Frase come to my place, and I’ll get the meatball subs for supper. My treat. We’ll watch the Cubs and a movie. Frase said you like ‘Die Hard’ a lot, and it’ll be nice to watch with someone who does. Frase just doesn’t appreciate guy movies.”

“No, he doesn’t. He’d rather watch some art house crap. But I don’t know if my doc will let me go anywhere.”

“You’ll be with Fraser. He’ll look after you. You get tired – I have a bed. It’s comfortable because my mom bought me a new mattress last time she visited. Couch isn’t bad, either. You bring your meds and PJs with you, and you’ll be fine.”

 _It would be nice to get out_ , Ray thought. _And see a movie that isn’t for the kids. I guess being with Stanley for a few hours wouldn’t be so bad_.

“Say you’ll come.”

 _Benny wants us to be friends_. “Okay.”

“Okay to what, Ray?” Benny had entered the room.

“Okay to coming to my place next weekend,” Kowalski answered for Ray. “You too, Frase. We’ll have a guys’ night out, except we’ll stay in.”

“That sounds like fun, Ray. And I’m sure Dr. Patel will agree to it, Ray. He did say you’re getting stronger.”

“I know, Benny.”

Kowalski clapped his hands together. “Good! Now that’s settled, you come tonight, Frase.” Fraser sighed.

“Ray, I’ve already told you I can’t…”

“You mean you **won’t** , Benny,” Ray interrupted. “You don’t have to stick around here all the time. Go on the stakeout and have fun.”

“Well, I’d hardly call a stakeout for a suspected criminal fun, Ray….”

“Benny, you love going on them, and you know that. Go! When are you gonna be able to go on one again, once you’re back in Canada?”

He pleaded with Benny with his eyes. _Benny, I’ll be fine. Ma and Maria will be here. Spend time with Kowalski. He’s your friend, and a good guy. And he hasn’t replaced me. I know that now_.

Fraser opened his mouth to reply as Ma’s voice yelled down the hall, saying that dinner was on the table. Ray slowly rose, shaking off the stiffness, and both Benny and Kowalski reached out to steady him. 

“I’m okay,” he told them. Kowalski dropped his hand, but Benny placed his hand on Ray’s shoulder, turning him to look him in the eye. His smile was almost as big as the one he had when he saw Ray in the hotel room – the smile that was unique to Ray. At least, Ray hadn’t seen Benny share the same smile with Kowalski.

“Ray, I will go on the stakeout tonight,” Benny said, glancing quickly at Kowalski before turning back to Ray. _Thank you, Ray, for accepting him_. Fraser said with his eyes. Ray couldn’t help but smile back.

“Wish you could go with us, Vecchio,” Kowalski said, breaking the moment. Ray turned toward him on his other side. He was also smiling at Ray.

Ray didn’t know what to say to him except, “Thanks.” He managed to smile back, and Kowalski placed a friendly hand on his back as they walked to the dining room.

“Perhaps later this summer, when you’re back at work, Ray, we’ll all be on a stakeout and we could play poker. I think the two of you have the same skill level. And if Detective Huey or Detective Dewey joins us, we’ll have enough players for a good game,” Fraser was saying.

“Benny, I won’t be back at work before you go back to Canada…” Ray started, but Benny was already ahead of him and down the hall. He looked over at Kowalski, who seemed puzzled. “He told you when he’s going back?” he asked.

“No – hasn’t said a thing. He talks as if he’s staying in Chicago.”

Ray sighed. _I love you, Benny, but you’re so hard to figure out sometimes_ , he thought. _Never mind. I guess you’ll tell me soon enough when you’re leaving_. In the meantime, Ray decided he would think of somewhere for Kowalski to take Maggie. _Maybe I’ll never go back to Scarpelli’s again, but I bet they’d like it. I could make sure Pat gives them the best table in the house_ , he thought as he walked to the dining room.


End file.
